Actually the meaning of "Selah" is quite controversial and ultimately unkonwn. Some interpret it as meaning "the end of the road" (i.e., the end of a section), and some say that it refers to a changing of choirs in polychoral antiphony. Commands to sing in Hebrew include "shiru" (can refer to poetry without music) and "zamru." "Nagnu" can refer to playing an instrument with no words in attendance. I'm sure there are others, but I've never heard "selah" in this context. (One of the psalms states "v'nomar l'fanav shira chadasha"--"And let us say before Him new song" [sic].) Note that "klezmer" is a yiddish smooshing of "k'lay zemer," the Hebrew term referring to musical instruments as "vessels of song."
Aaron J. Rabushka [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://users.waymark.net/arabushk > Speaking of Biblical texts and such , I recently set some of Psalm 84 > to music, and encountered the word "Selah." As it happened, it > assumed a rather prominent place in the setting, so upon looking it > up in the dictionary, I came to understand its meaning as a command > (this may be too strong a word) to sing. Ergo, I used it in that > context. later, I read some other place that the meaning was > something else. Any of you Psalm experts may weigh in please. > > Thanks, > > Dean > > On Aug 28, 2007, at 12:24 PM, Mark D Lew wrote: > >> John Howell wrote: >> >>> Hmm. One must be rather careful in assuming how words were actually >>> used, and what they actually meant in different situations, because >>> they can tie us up in knots. Do you happen to know when the Old >>> Testament Book of Psalms was first concatenated, and whether the >>> (presumably Hebrew) word for "Psalms" was attached as its title from >>> the beginning? >> >> I haven't been keeping up with the List lately, so I've missed most >> of this discussion. My apologies if this has already been covered. >> >> Neither of the Hebrew words used for the psalms ("mizmor" and >> "tehillim") suggest stringed instruments. Both were varieties of >> songs. It appears that the use of "psalm" in Greek translation was >> meant in the secondary sense of just a song, without regard to >> accompaniment. But as always with such things, exact meanings are >> subject to debate by historians. Brief discussion here: http:// >> www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=574&letter=P. Better >> googling will probably turn up more. >> >> As for King David's instruments, the one translated "harp" is a >> "kinnor" in the original, and the one translated "psaltery" is a >> "nevel". Both kinnor and nevel are reasonably well-known. Google >> turns up a page for a modern manufacturer, presumably an attempt at >> historical reconstruction. >> >> I would venture to guess that the Greek translators noticed the >> stringed instruments mentioned elsewhere so felt it natural to >> attach their word "psalm" to the songs, even though the Hebrew >> label made no such implication. >> >> mdl >> _______________________________________________ >> Finale mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > Dean M. Estabrook > http://deanestabrook.googlepages.com/home > >>>>> Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections? > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
